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[Product Review] Hip Hop Candy!

I’m on a bit of a fragrance kick right now, from my many perfume samples from Sephora, to Victoria Secret body mists, as well as to candles, lots and lots of candles! During my search for cutesy food art, I stumbled across Hip Hop Candy, a small business that sells hand made products dedicated to the world of cute.

Payment experience: While debating the items in my shopping cart, I decided to browse some of Hip Hop Candy’s other links, including their Facebook page. I was surprised and pleased to discover that they had an Easter special posted there, and only there, with a promo code offering 15% off of the total purchase. I love companies that hand out discounts here and there like that to loyal fans, as it shows a real appreciation for the people who keep them in business.

Shipping experience: I can’t rail enough about the extremely long amount of time it takes for products to mail outside the 48 contiguous states. Hawaii and Alaska get shafted for a waiting period anywhere between one week to one month.

No tracking number is provided for products unless you explicitly ask for tracking confirmation at the time of purchase. I, like the dork I am, completely forgot to check for it before ordering. The manufacturer replies fairly quickly to inquiry E-mails, and is willing to supply either a refund or re-issue the shipment if a product fails to arrive.

Bamboo Lotus Soy Candle – $5.00

The soft petals of the exotic lotus flower and the earth, rain-kissed scent of fresh bamboo shoots make this fragrance calming yet feminine. Soy candles burn up to 50% longer than paraffin candles (and they don’t release CO2 into the atmosphere!) Candles are hand-poured in 4-oz tins with lead-free wicks.

Of the two candles I purchased, this one is by far my favorite. It has a lovely and memorable scent. I do wish that both of the candles gave off a stronger aroma, since I only really noticed the smell after walking out and back into the room.

The candle burns slowly with a small flame, so I fully expect them to last as long as promised. This is good, given the small size of the product; I usually purchase candles much larger than 4-oz.

Vanilla Peach Soy Candle – $5.00

Sweet, syrupy and ripe. Vanilla Peach smells just like a fresh peach with a touch of sweet cream!

If you noticed, there is a slight discrepancy in product title–the site refers to this candle as the “Vanilla Peach Soy Candle”, but on the actual tin, it labels the candle as “Sweet Peach”. Regardless, the description is spot on with the sweet factor, as I smelled more cream than peach. I’m not usually a fan of sweeter scents; they often overwhelm me. Thankfully, this particular candle’s weak aroma makes it so that is not the case here.

A small irritation about these candles is the pricing. I’m guessing the logos and soy are supposed to make up for the amount, but I just can’t get past the fact that I can get a candle three times the size of these for only double the price, one that will give off a much stronger aroma that I can actually smell without first leaving the room. Even if the soy candle does last longer, that doesn’t really help me if I have a hard time smelling it!

Hip Hop Candy Mystery Bag – $10.00

Our best-selling “mystery gift” packs give you a chance to sample Hip Hop Candy’s items without spending a lot of money! Each mystery gift will include include five or more mystery items, adding up to a value of at least $16.00. They make great gifts! Mystery gift may include items include buttons, lip balms, roll-on perfume, rings, earrings, bookmarks, stickers, keychains, cell phone charms, bracelets, studs, hair clips, and more! Any item on the site under these categories may potentially be included, others are never-before-seen special or prototype items!

My mystery bag included two types of lip balm, a small bottle of body lotion, and two rings. I’m a little bit bummed that I didn’t get a bookmark or pocket mirror, but hey, the surprise is the fun of ordering these!

The body lotion, Sweet Pea Flowers, has a nice, light scent that I prefer in my lotions. However, I’ll most likely use it only as a hand lotion given the small container size. The wrap-around sticker shows some wear and tear, and I wonder how roughly it was handled and how long it was hanging out before getting thrown into my mystery bag. The description on the back states that the “body lotion contains Vitamin E rich sunflower oil”.

My two lip balms include Frosted Cupcake and Vampire’s Kiss (red raspberry and pomegranate). The design on these are once again irresistibly cute, and the packaging shiny and without scratches or scuff marks. The scent of these lip balms are true to the names, but I warn you not to lick your lips as the taste is a bit yucky. From a purely visual standpoint, I prefer Frosted Cupcake since the color of the balm is a neutral and light cream. Vampire’s Kiss has an odd grey color to it–you would think that red would be the choice here given the name and ingredients! I’ve never had a grey lip balm before, so I’m honestly a bit hesitant to use it.

I really liked the designs used for the necklaces, earrings, and rings, but didn’t want to purchase any due to the material and fact that I would never wear them in public. They’re made from cheap acrylic and very lightweight, like the type of jewelry you’d see in a gum-ball machine for grade schoolers. The backing reveals transparent glue attaching the charm to the “silver-tone” ring. The two I received, Nerdy Owl and Sushi Roll, would be awesome as mobile phone charms, keychains, or even pocket mirrors, but definitely not on me in jewelry-form. I’m not sure whether I want to re-purpose them into some DIY version of the above suggestions, or give them away to the first kid I see.

Overall: Although I love the art and concept, I am going to have to decide against purchasing from Hip Hop Candy! again. I felt so-so about the quality of everything that I received, and really can’t justify the price and waiting period for products for which I’m not strongly positive.

On another note, I’d love to take any suggestions that you have for products! I’m constantly on the prowl for anime or cute-themed accessories, but have had a difficult time finding any locally or even online.

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5 thoughts on “[Product Review] Hip Hop Candy!”

The products are really super cute, but it’s too bad that the quality and pricing isn’t to your liking. I’m the same when I buy stuff. If I spend a lot on something, I expect the quality of my stuff to be really good. I enjoy your product reviews. Keep doing them.😉

I’m actually a bit of a candle person too believe it or not. I tend to go with more mystery scents than you did. I am pretty easy to please though as they don’t often make scented candles that smell bad.

I love that you went with that mystery bag. That’s fun. It did backfire on them as it seemed to show off their lack of quality. Oh! I vote repurpose btw.

Sorry I’m late commenting. I’m a life blogger for a reason lol. My life is insanely messed up. So I’ll thank you for your patience this month.

Lastly I may have a site worth checking out though I honestly know next to nothing about it. I just know I’m buying a Dango plushie as a gift from there soon. I’ll get the site and leave it in the other blogs comment.

Oooh, I have to disagree with you that “…they don’t often make scented candles that smell bad.” I actually have a strong dislike for almost any brand’s attempt at making pastry-type candles, like cinnamon roll, sugar cookie, and cookie dough. I’ve never actually bought one since I’ve been so turned off from the sniff trial at the store, so maybe they smell better when lit.

And I’ve been wanting to do a mystery type bag for a while now. Unfortunately, the only one I knew about before was from a jewelry company, and since I already had a ton of jewelry from them, the risk was too high for me to get a duplicate. I hope I have better luck in the future if I do find another site that does those types of sales.

And thanks for sharing the link to etsy. I have heard of it, but I’ve never actually checked it out. I will now!

Okay I can understand that. Maybe I should rephrase that. There are plenty of scents I won’t buy, but none I can think of that I actually dislike. I actually see me searching for just such a scent next time I get a chance though.

I still haven’t ordered from there. The store that makes the biggest Dango plush is on vacation. I wish I could find a bigger one…I’m tempted to see if a friend will try making a huge one if I buy the supplies.